Bookshelf
THE BIRDS OF BUDLE BAY
BY CHRIS G KNOX
The Northumbrian, August/September 2026
Budle Bay is one of Northumberland’s finest wildlife havens, and Chris G Knox draws on years of local knowledge to celebrate its remarkable bird life.
Covering the rich variety of resident and migratory species that make use of this internationally important stretch of coastline, the book offers an engaging guide to the changing seasons and the habitats that attract thousands of birds each year.
Written with the insight of an experienced observer, this guide combines practical information with affection for this special corner of the county. Whether you’re an experienced birder or simply enjoy exploring the Northumberland coast, this beautifully illustrated volume provides an informative and rewarding introduction to one of the region’s outstanding natural treasures.
THE GREEN PARCEL
BY JOHN CHALLIS
The Northumbrian, August/September 2026
In his second poetry collection, John Challis explores landscape, memory and belonging, drawing on both personal and collective histories to reflect on the ties that bind us to the places we inhabit.
Spare yet deeply resonant, these poems move with quiet assurance between the intimate and the historical, finding meaning in family, work, inheritance and the changing natural world. Whether writing about Northumberland’s rural landscapes or lives shaped by other places and times, Challis has a tender regard for ordinary experience, revealing how memory, history and place become woven together.
A beautifully judged collection whose emotional subtlety and clarity linger long after the final poem.
HOWAY THE LADS! A People’s History of Newcastle United
BY DAN JACKSON
The Northumbrian, August/September 2026
Few football clubs inspire the fevered fan devotion of Newcastle United, despite a trophy cabinet that contains more empty shelves than silverware. Here, Dan Jackson, bestselling author of The Northumbrians, explains why with his usual wit, warmth and knack for weaving the broad sweep of history through the lives of ordinary people.
Tracing the club’s story from its Victorian origins to today, the club’s fortunes offer a lens via which we read the social, political and cultural history of Tyneside. Players such as Colin Veitch, Jackie Milburn and Alan Shearer appear alongside boardroom personalities whose dramas are as compelling as those on the pitch. The result is a portrait of a city, a region and a community bound by resilience, identity and extraordinary loyalty.
Thus we appreciate the singular place Newcastle United occupies in the lives of its supporters – its fierce rivalries, its unbreakable bond with its city, and the fans who have turned it into perhaps the best-supported underachiever in world football. Even those with only a passing interest in football will be drawn into a story that illuminates the spirit of the people it represents.
BANE OF BERNICIA
BY MATTHEW HARFFY
The Northumbrian, August/September 2026
Here, the author returns to 7th century Northumbria for this latest installment in the Bernicia Chronicles, blending history with the storytelling for which he has become known.
Set against the rivalries of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, we have warlord Beobrand hoping for respite after a mission to Rome. Instead, he uncovers a dangerous alliance between Mercia and the Picts just as King Oswiu seeks to secure a fragile peace by marrying his eldest son to the daughter of his old adversary, Penda of Mercia.
When Beobrand is accused of jeopardising that uneasy truce, he is drawn into a mission involving royal hostages, divided loyalties and the ever-present threat of war.
Harffy balances battlefield action with court politics, capturing the harsh realities of the early medieval kingdoms. Whether you’re already following Beobrand’s story or discovering the series for the first time, this is an assured and engrossing historical adventure.
POSITIVELY SCARRED
BY JOANNE APPLEBY
The Northumbrian, August/September 2026
This deeply personal account traces years growing up in Rothbury while navigating life with a facial disfigurement and the complexities of gender identity at a time when neither was forgiven. Written with openness and generosity of spirit, it traces the author’s journey through prejudice and self-doubt towards acceptance, resilience and self-belief. Alongside its human themes, it paints an affectionate picture of village life in Rothbury during the 1960s, recalling a close-knit community with all its kindnesses and its shortcomings.
The author’s gift as a writer is her authenticity. She never tries to dramatise her experiences or search for self-help platitudes; instead, she tells her story with a straightforward honesty that makes it all the more affecting. Reading her work feels less like reading a conventional memoir than listening to a friend sharing the most personal chapters of her life. That same sincerity shines through in her other works, I’m Your Daughter, Mam and The Ripple of Dementia – both of them touching reflections on dementia, loss and family – and in her beautifully illustrated children’s books, which are filled with warmth, kindness and gentle imagination.
These are concise, deeply personal reflections – slim enough to slip into a pocket or handbag and read in a single sitting, and with a remarkable ability to stay with the reader. Long after the final page, it is the author’s kindness, courage and unwavering honesty that remain. Warm, uplifting and quietly courageous, Positively Scarred is a reminder that sharing our vulnerabilities can be one of the greatest acts of generosity.
CONSIDER THE RAVENS
BY CRESSIDA DOWNING
The Northumbrian, August/September 2026
Set on windswept Lindisfarne in 1494, this award-winning debut is a richly imagined medieval mystery where faith, power and long-buried secrets collide. Linnet, a gifted scribe fleeing a troubled past, arrives at the island’s monastery hoping for a fresh start.
Instead, she finds herself among a wary community where trust is in short supply and almost everyone has something to hide. When a monastery official is found dead, followed by another unexplained death, Linnet is drawn into an investigation that threatens to expose not only the killer but her own carefully guarded history.
Downing brings medieval Lindisfarne vividly to life, capturing both the stark beauty of its landscape and the claustrophobic atmosphere of a community cut off by the tides. This is an assured debut that will appeal to readers who enjoy intelligent historical crime with a strong sense of place. It also began life as the inaugural winner of the LJ Ross Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction, an award recognising outstanding new crime writing inspired by the North East, and the novel more than lives up to that promise..
THE BLANCHLAND LETTERS: The Wartime Story of Peggy Wilkinson, an Evacuee School Ma’am in Love
BY ALISON DUNN
The Northumbrian, June/July 2026
Here, Alison Dunn takes the letters her mother Peggy wrote to her father Alex during the war and weaves them within a narrative that combines excerpts from the letters alongside Alison’s own commentary to create a vivid portrait of rural wartime life.
The result is both a celebration of her parents and a loving act of reconstruction. Through Peggy’s intelligent and often humorous letters, the book recalls the warmth, resilience and character of rural Northumberland during the war.
Peggy’s experiences teaching evacuated children in Blanchland provide a rich backdrop, while her developing relationship with Alex Dunn gives the story its emotional heart. The atmosphere of village life, with its memorable characters, church life and gently comic moments at times calls to mind the world of TV’s Dad’s Army: a community facing extraordinary times with humour, stoicism and quiet determination.
HOBRTHRUSH
BY TOM WALKER AND SUE CULLIMORE
The Northumbrian, June/July 2026
This atmospheric thriller blends political tension, grief and a sacred landscape transformed by the shadow of nuclear weapons.
Set over one frantic day in 1987, it follows Arnold Prestwick, a grieving university lecturer drawn into a dangerous world of political extremism, revenge and Cold War paranoia after witnessing a murder and becoming the target of a police hunt. Against a backdrop of peace camps, protest and Holy Island reshaped by the installation of nuclear weapons, it combines suspense with searching questions about faith, morality, justice and vengeance.
There is an emotional dimension in the book’s own story. Tom Walker wrote it 40 years ago but never saw it published. After his death, the manuscript was discovered by his daughter, Sue Cullimore, who recognised its promise and completed it. The result is a thriller whose themes of memory, loss and unfinished business are echoed by the story of its creation – a father’s novel finally brought to life by his daughter.
BEDE: The Man Who Invented England
BY EDOARDO ALBERT
The Northumbrian, June/July 2026
You might think there can be little new to say about one of history’s most written-about figures, yet this book succeeds in bringing Bede vividly to life while revealing the extraordinary reach of his ideas.
Edoardo Albert presents him not simply as a scholarly monk but as a writer whose vision helped shape how England came to understand itself. In so doing, he recreates the turbulent world of early medieval Britain and its landscape of rival kingdoms, faith, conflict and emerging identities.
Rather than offering a straightforward biography, Albert uses Bede as a lens through which to explore a society in transition and the ideas that helped to define it. Scholarly yet accessible, the book makes a distant period feel vivid, relevant and unexpectedly close.
UNDERDOGS
BY LOUISE POWELL
The Northumbrian, June/July 2026
Set in County Durham in the aftermath of pit closures, Louise Powell creates a vivid portrait of a community grappling with loss and dwindling opportunities. At its centre is the relationship between Reg and his 10-year-old son George, whose bond gives the novel much of its emotional force as they search for hope after tragedy.
The colourful world of independent greyhound racing (or “flapping”) adds pace, atmosphere and a colourful cast of characters, while themes of grief, resilience and second chances run throughout the story. Powell’s use of regional voice and dialect feels authentic and immersive, grounding the novel firmly in its North East setting. Funny, moving and full of warmth, Underdogs feels both deeply rooted in place and rich in humanity.
NORTHUMBERLAND’S COUNTRY HOUSES: A Picture Postcard History, Voumne 1, South Tynedale
BY JIM DAVIDSON
The Northumbrian, June/July 2026
The latest publication in a fascinating series from this picture postcard collector and researcher is a richly detailed and deeply engaging exploration of the houses, estates and families that shaped one of our region’s most distinctive landscapes.
Here, Jim Davidson combines meticulous historical research with the charm of rare postcard imagery to create a book that is as visually rewarding as it is informative. Alongside fascinating postcard pictures of each property, the author brings to life the stories of the people who lived in them, from aristocratic landowners to industrialists and estate workers. His commentary reveals the social history, architectural evolution and changing fortunes behind these properties. Particularly appealing is the sense of place running throughout the book, connecting landscape, memory and heritage. Thoroughly researched, this is a fascinating read for anyone interested in Northumberland’s social history and built environment.
NORTHERN SAINTS IN HOLY PLACES: A Pilgrim’s Guide to North East England
BY GAVIN WAKEFIELD
The Northumbrian, June/July 2026
In combining history, pilgrimage and travel to explore the spiritual landscape of the North East, Gavin Wakefield guides us through places associated with figures such as Cuthbert, Aidan, Bede and Oswald, showing how the region’s churches, coastlines and landscapes helped shape both faith and identity over centuries.
Alongside historical background, this is a practical pilgrimage route following in the footsteps of the northern saints. What distinguishes it is the way it links landscape and belief, encouraging readers to see familiar places through a deeper historical and spiritual lens.
In this, it appeals as much to walkers and local history enthusiasts as it does to pilgrims.
MONSTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
BY REBECCA ORWIN
The Northumbrian, April/May 2026Rebecca Orwin’s much-anticipated debut, inspired by the wild beauty of coastal Northumberland, is one of the most talked-about children’s books of recent years. Acquired by Penguin in a six-figure deal ahead of publication, it marks her out as a significant new voice in children’s fiction.
Set in a world reshaped by environmental catastrophe, this assured, atmospheric adventure follows Sunny, a girl raised to fear the sea creatures said to menace her coastal community. When she comes face to face with one, the novel deepens from a gripping survival story into a thoughtful exploration of empathy, prejudice and courage.
The setting – a stark shoreline marked by “The Ruin” – draws directly on Orwin’s years living in the North East. Inspired by Northumberland’s beaches and historic landmarks, the landscape feels elemental and immediate, shaping both peril and possibility.
DEADLINE
BY STEPH McGOVERN
The Northumbrian, April/May 2026
This paperback release brings renewed attention to Steph McGovern’s best-selling newsroom thriller. Drawing on her background in broadcast journalism, the Teesside-born presenter transforms the ordered world of live television into a pressure cooker of fear.
The novel centres on Rose, a TV journalist poised for a career-defining on-air interview. Moments before going live, a voice breaks into her earpiece with devastating news: her family has been taken. If she wants to see them again, she must obey instructions delivered in real time, while the cameras roll.
What follows unfolds against the relentless choreography of live broadcasting: countdowns, studio cues, producers’ instructions and the knowledge that millions are watching. McGovern uses the mechanics of television not as backdrop but as engine, exploiting its rigid structures to heighten suspense. The result is a tightly paced thriller that blends insider authenticity with escalating jeopardy.
BERWICK
BY LJ ROSS
The Northumbrian, April/May 2026LJ Ross returns with the 24th instalment in her hugely successful DCI Ryan series, reaffirming her status as one of the North East’s most dependable crime writers.
This time, DCI Ryan faces a personal crisis when his wife Anna is arrested for murder. The novel places the historic border town of Berwick centre stage – a setting defined by shifting loyalties, turbulent weather and centuries of contested ground.
Ross’s enduring appeal lies in her ability to fuse tightly paced investigation with a powerful sense of place. Here, landscape and borderland are more than backdrop; they shape the tensions, secrets and fractures that drive the case. DCI Ryan navigates personal and professional pressures while confronting a mystery rooted in the region’s distinctive character.
For long-time followers, Berwick offers the familiar pleasure of returning to a well-loved investigative circle. For newcomers, it provides an entry point into a series built on atmosphere, momentum and Northumbrian grit.
FOLKISH
BY KYM DEYN
The Northumbrian, April/May 2026
Kym Deyn’s debut collection is something a good deal stranger than a straightforward book of poems. Steeped in the textures of northern English folklore of local saints, uncanny creatures, half-remembered legends and talismanic objects, the collection reshapes inherited myth into something urgent and contemporary. This is not heritage as comfort, but folklore as living and current: volatile, subversive and darkly playful.
Deyn’s poems shift tone with agility. One moment sardonic and irreverent, the next unsettling or tender, they draw on the grotesque and the sacred to probe questions of power, desire and belonging. The folkloric figures that populate the pages feel less like museum pieces than restless presences, exposing the violence and superstition embedded in communal stories.
With connections to Newcastle and the wider North East, Deyn writes from within the landscape she unsettles. Folkish is a bold, inventive debut – queer, sharp-edged and unafraid, and recommended for readers who like their poetry to raid folklore’s archive and return with something blazing in its vivid re-imagining.
FOUND ON THIS DAY:
A Diary of Roman Discoveries in the North East 1660-1856
EDITED BY ALASTAIR F ROBERTSON
The Northumbrian, April/May 2026
This absorbing volume gathers contemporary accounts of Roman discoveries on Hadrian’s Wall from the 17th to the 19th centuries, creating a vivid impression of events unfolding in real time. The editor draws on Victorian compilations including The Local Historian’s Table Book of Remarkable Occurrences (1841) and Local Records or Historical Register of Remarkable Events, which reproduced reports from newspapers and periodicals.
The result is a chronicle rich in immediacy. We encounter altars, inscriptions, coins and everyday objects emerging from the soil, often described with the excitement of their first observers. Many entries are accompanied by illustrations and, poignantly, the present whereabouts of some are now unknown. Their inclusion here preserves fragments of the region’s archaeological story that might otherwise have faded from view.
This concise book offers not glimpses of Roman Britain and insight into how earlier generations documented the ancient past. It is available from Bennor Books in Hexham, The Forge Studio in Allendale, The Nook Café in Kirkhaugh,, and by post from the editor (P&P free) at Ashleigh House, Nenthead Road, Alston Cumbria, CA9 3SN
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER
BY REBECCA PHILIPSON
The Northumbrian, April/May 2026Rebecca Philipson’s debut thriller arrives with a bang. Raised in a mining town in Co Durham, where she still lives, Philipson brings a distinctly North East voice to a novel that interrogates our popular fascination with true crime and its depiction in books and television as much as it delivers a fictional version of it.
The story begins with a chilling discovery: a copy of a self-styled guide to committing the perfect murder is found at a brutal crime scene. The book, attributed to an elusive figure calling himself Denver Brady, claims to show readers how to evade justice after committing the perfect crime.
When DI Samantha Hansen is assigned to the case, what initially appears to be a grim provocation soon takes on darker implications. As further violence follows, the possibility that fiction (or is it fact?) is being used as a blueprint raises the stakes, forcing Sam into a tense pursuit of both the killer and the author behind the manifesto.
Blending tight pacing with cultural commentary, How to Get Away with Murder examines notoriety, media spectacle and the uneasy line between storytelling and reality. It’s a confident debut that leaves us questioning why we are so drawn to the darkest narratives.
AMONG COMMUNISTS
BY SINEAD MORRISSEY
The Northumbrian, April/May 2026
In Among Communists, acclaimed Northern Irish poet Sinéad Morrissey turns to memoir, tracing a childhood shaped as much by ideology as by geography. Growing up in Belfast during the Troubles, Morrissey found her imagination captured both by the violence on her doorstep and by the global theatre of the Cold War. East Germany, the Soviet Union and the promise of socialism loomed large, refracted through the distinctive subculture of “Belfast Communism”, its meetings, marches, socials and close-knit networks.
This book charts the peculiar intensity of that political world while following Morrissey’s emergence as a writer. When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the event reverberated through both public and private life, unsettling family structures and long-held convictions. The result is a portrait of intertwined political and personal upheaval, rendered with the precision of a poet attentive to memory’s textures.
A professor of creative writing at Newcastle University and director of the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts, Morrissey o. ers a memoir that is at once regionally rooted and internationally resonant – a meditation on faith, doubt and the aftershocks of¯history.
DIAGNOSIS: HUMAN
BY ELLY CHAPPLE
The Northumbrian, April/May 2026
Here, Northumberland author and campaigner Elly Chapple blends personal testimony with a deeply felt examination of the systems which are meant to protect vulnerable families.
Drawing on her experience raising her daughter Ella, who is Deafblind and has a rare genetic condition resulting in multiple disabilities, the author reflects both on motherhood in extremis and on what can happen when determined advocacy is greeted with suspicion.
This book resonates powerfully in light of recent reporting detailing how some parents of disabled children have faced allegations of fabricated or induced illness after pressing for medical support. Indeed, a couple of years ago, care proceedings involving Ella were found to have breached her human rights, an experience which sharpens the book’s central argument: that difference should not be framed as danger, nor judged against narrow ideas of “normal”.
Diagnosis: Human is both memoir and manifesto – a call to replace fear with understanding, and bureaucracy with compassion.
THE GARDENER AND THE MOTH
BY SUSIE WHITE
The Northumbrian, February/March 2026This new book from The Northumbrian’s gardening editor Susie White is a concise and illuminating guide to creating gardens that support moths and butterflies, recognising the vital role both play in healthy ecosystems.
While butterflies often steal the spotlight, moths are, Susie says, crucial pollinators, and gardens designed with both in mind can be richer, more dynamic places. Drawing on her years nurturing a wildlife-friendly garden at her Northumberland home, she offers practical advice on plant choice, supporting insects through their life cycles, and observing and identifying species.
Clear, encouraging and rooted in practice, the book invites gardeners to think beyond daytime beauty and consider the quieter nocturnal life of the moth. In the face of steep declines in moth and butterfly populations, this makes a persuasive case for gardening as an act of care and optimism that helps both flora and fauna to thrive.
THE DEAD DONT BLEED
BY NEIL ROLLINSON
The Northumbrian, February/March 2026Set between the coalfield villages of Northumberland and the heat of southern Spain, this is a quietly powerful debut that explores family, legacy and the long shadow of violence.
At its centre are brothers Frank and Gordon Bridge, sons of a feared criminal figure whose reputation once loomed large in the North East. Decades after a disastrous robbery tore the family apart, Frank returns following his father’s death, drawn back to a landscape and a past he thought he had left behind. His search for his estranged brother Gordon, who fled to Spain years earlier, becomes a journey through memory, guilt and unresolved loyalty.
Rollinson’s portrayal of the North East is rich and unsentimental. Former mining communities, shaped by hardship and silence, are rendered with precision and sharply contrasted with the heat and openness of Andalusia, where Gordon has attempted to build a new life, the shifting settings mirroring the emotional distance between the brothers.
THE RIVER BRINGS THE SEA
BY ALI THURM The Northumbrian, February/March 2026 Newcastle-born Ali Thurm delivers a haunting and urgent piece of climate fiction in this novel set in a flooded UK ravaged by breakdown. It follows Anna and Robbie as they flee the drowned remains of London and head north to join a remote community in Cumbria, only to discover that isolation and refuge come with their own perils. Thurm builds an atmosphere of dread and fragile hope: the world beyond the water’s edge is lethal, governed by the brutal cult NOAH and the desperate politics of survival. What makes the book stand out is Thurm’s grounded sense of place (her North East origins lend an underlying authenticity to the setting) and her deft weaving of personal and ecological disaster. The novel is at once a thriller, a character study and a cautionary fable, placing human relationships at the heart of a speculative, submerged landscape.
THE BONFIRE PARTY
BY SEAN O'BRIEN
The Northumbrian, February/March 2026One of the UK’s most acclaimed poets, Newcastle-based Sean O’Brien’s twelfth poetry collection is shaped by newly urgent preoccupations: the recurrence of history, the shadow of war, and the fragility of peacetime.
Taking its title from Eric Ravilious’ 1930s painting of revellers gathered around a fire, the book explores human culpability through experience. Time and place flow together in poems where memory, loss and desire coexist, and where “love and death consort as they must”. A central sequence, Impasse, marks a departure, writing into the imaginative climate of Georges Simenon’s Maigret novels to create a poetic communion between the physical world and the moral atmosphere.
It is a worthy new collection from O’Brien, one of Britain’s most respected poets, and one of only four – alongside Ted Hughes, John Burnside and Jason Allen-Paisant – to have won both the TS Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for a single collection, in O’Brien’s case, The Drowned Book. The poems insist on attention, asking how private feeling can be borne honestly in a world shaped by violence, compromise and historical return.
THE KILLING STONES
BY ANN CLEEVES
The Northumbrian, February/March 2026Vera’s creator Ann Cleeves returns to the world of detective Jimmy Perez in a thriller that opens in the aftermath of a violent storm which has hit Perez’s new home, the island of Orkney.
The sea-scoured cliffs, the heave of the weather, and the layering of myth and memory all contribute to a sense of dread that is rooted as much in the land as in the human heart. Readers of the earlier Shetland novels will feel at home here, the shift to Orkney evoking a simultaneously new yet familiar sense of isolation and primeval power.
In this story, a murder weapon from prehistory forces Perez to work at two levels as he strives to excavate human motives while working to decipher the meaning of artefacts of a long-buried era. The contrast adds depth to a deftly layered thriller.
BREAKING SHELLS
BY Neville Judson The Northumbrian, February/March 2026 This quietly powerful coming-of-age novel set in a small English village during the 1960s centres on friends Simon, Tim and Ruth, whose shared love of climbing, caving and youthful adventure gradually give way to deeper emotional challenges. As they confront love, desire and questions of identity, the shifting social landscape of the era presses in on their lives. North Yorkshire-based Judson’s prose captures the hopes, fears and uncertainties of youth as the novel explores first love, gay and lesbian relationships, the weight of religious expectation, and the courage required to live truthfully amid entrenched norms. The bonds between the friends are tested as innocence gives way to experience and personal discovery.
RIGBY’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF THE HERRING: Adventures with the King of Fish
BY GRAEME RIGBY
December 2025/January 2026Who knew anyone needed to learn about herrings? Yet I do, and this triumph of curiosity, storytelling and wit from Tyneside-based Rigby casts a vast net to capture the mighty herring’s place in science, culture, war, art and food to show how it has shaped economies, inspired legends and sparked wars. This eccentric, encyclopaedic deep dive grew out of the BBC Radio 4 series Rigby’s Red Herrings, and the vast website www.herripedia.com (just go there…). Over 400 pages (I know!), it is packed with oddities: herrings’ high-pitched flatulence mistaken for Soviet submarines; vast spawnings seen from space; and the trillion individuals which make this one of the most abundant vertebrates on Earth. The book you never knew you needed, this is a rabbit hole the size of an ocean. Good luck . . .
THE WOLF OF WHINDALE
BY JACOB KERR
December 2025/January 2026
The new chilling offering from Jacob Kerr, North East-born author of The Green Man of Eshwood Hall, is steeped in folklore, social unrest and a fair dollop of terror. Set in a storm-lashed northern pit community where tension simmers on the picket line, this story is defined by the Northumbrian landscapes that shaped the author; its brooding fells, treacherous moors and abandoned pit workings looming large in a place where myth and weather close in with equal ferocity. As people die in brutal, bestial attacks, the legend of the Wolf of Whindale takes hold in a taut, atmospheric tale that balances the earthy textures of English folklore with a sharp, contemporary edge. This is a chilling journey into a landscape where the past is never truly buried. Best read before nightfall . . .
NORTHUMBRIA’S BLOODY HISTORY
BY MARTIN DUFFERWIEL
December 2025/January 2026
This absorbing study explores the violent tapestry of the North East’s past via both the lens of significant events and the suffering of ordinary folk. From the great clashes that altered the course of nations to the routine brutalities that marked daily life, Dufferwiel excavates centuries in which Roman legions, Dark Age warlords, Viking raiders, Norman invaders, reivers and rebels all fought and bled on Northumbrian soil.
The author shifts deftly between the epic and the intimate, his explorations of great military confrontations told alongside the human consequences of plague, social unrest and long-running local feuds. Anchoring the narrative is a sure sense of place. The author examines battlefields and policy with a historian’s rigour, yet never loses sight of the communities shaped and often shattered by the relentless churn of conflict. The result is both panoramic in scope and profoundly human in its insights.
NORTHUMBERLAND:
THE STORY OF CLIMBING
IN THE COUNTY
BY MARK SAVAGE, STEVE BLAKE, JOHN SPENCER
The Northumbrian, Dec 2025/Jan 2026A magnificent tribute to iconic climbing country, this landmark book spans more than a century of exploration, capturing the evolution of climbing in the region with authority and affection.
It is elevated to the remarkable by the photography of Mark Savage, a climber who made first ascents of some of Northumberland’s hardest routes. His images convey not only the scale and solitude of climbing here, but its emotional texture, and at 472 pages, this is the most comprehensive account ever of Northumberland’s climbing heritage.
It is a celebration of place from Bowden Doors to the coast, pairing vivid photography with anecdotes and route profiles to create a thoughtful and passionate account. For climbers, it offers fresh insight; for general readers it provides a sense of place, challenge and adventure. Climber and admirer alike will love this.
THE HOME BIRD: CREATING JOYFUL INTERIORS WHERE OLD MEETS NEW
BY ELLE HERVIN
The Northumbrian, Dec 2025/Jan 2026
Elle Hervin, the North East-based creator behind Instagram’s @elle_the_home_bird combines her passion for vintage finds and personal storytelling in her first book.
It’s pleasing to be invited into her home (perfect, yes, but us mere mortals can borrow the odd idea . . .) and into others that embody Elle’s modern vintage style.
If you’re seeking inspiration, or just want to look at photos of lovely houses, it’s rather nice. Just don’t look around your own living room and judge yourself, because this is a lovely book and it even inspired me to re-hang quite a few pictures. Which is a start.
The Last Yorkists: Edmund and Richard de la Pole
BY RICHARD ANDERTON
The Northumbrian, Dec 2025/Jan 2026
This Northumberland-based historian and writer’s portrait of the de la Pole brothers, Edmund and Richard – nephews of Richard III and the final Yorkist claimants to the English throne – is a fascinating analysis of their 30-year struggle against the Tudor Henrys VII and VIII.
Tracing murky domestic politics and a labyrinth of international intrigue that feels eerily contemporary, Anderton casts the brothers as figures of tragedy and ambition: Edmund, the pawn of larger forces; Richard, the wily White Rose in exile forging alliances with French and Scottish monarchs in an attempt to reclaim the English throne. This is medieval diplomacy, betrayal and dynastic claim-making laid bare, shining a light on a labyrinthine period and restoring two often-forgotten figures to their rightful, if uneasy, place in the story of England’s last great dynastic struggle.
DEFINED BY STONES
BY IAN JACKSON
The Northumbrian, August/September 2025The latest in Ian Jackson’s acclaimed Rock series, this fifth volume, due out in November 2025, traces the deep connections between our prehistoric ancestors and the landscapes of northern England.
The book journeys to 50 remarkable sites, each revealing extraordinary stories about the land and the people who once inhabited it. Stunning photography sits alongside clear, engaging text that is both highly accessible and richly informative, offering readers a fresh perspective on our shared past as Jackson shows how rock shaped the very fabric of early human life.
EXTRAORDINARY
WOMEN OF FAITH
BY MARGARET McALLISTER
The Northumbrian, August/September 2025Hexham author Margaret McAllister celebrates women whose faith changed the course of history, taking readers on a colourful journey across centuries and continents, introducing pioneers from Jane Austen to Mother Teresa, from Florence Nightingale to Rosa Parks.
Summer Macon’s vibrant illustrations bring the stories of these trailblazers to life, making the book especially engaging for primary school readers.
Yet this book’s message of courage, conviction, and purpose resonates far beyond childhood, reminding us all how bravery, faith and determination can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
SLOW TRAVEL: NORTHUMBERLAND
BY GEMMA HALL
The Northumbrian, August/September 2025Part of Bradt’s award-winning Slow Travel series, this new edition invites visitors and locals alike to experience the county afresh. Beyond its celebrated castles, coastline, and Roman heritage, the guide reveals quieter paths, lesser-known historic sites, and places where solitude and dark skies reign. Thoughtfully organised, there are sections dedicated to Northumberland National Park, the coast, Hadrian’s Wall, and Newcastle, each chapter blending historical context, practical tips, and local insight. The layout makes it easy to dip into for a single walk, cycle route, or wildlife-watching idea, while also rewarding a cover-to-cover read with a fuller sense of place. It balances practical detail with a genuine feel for the landscapes and communities it describes.
THE HOMECOMING
BY ZOE APOSTOLIDES
The Northumbrian, August/September 2025This striking debut from literary agent Zoë Apostolides follows Ellen, a young ghostwriter dispatched to capture the memoirs of an elderly woman in a remote Northumberland manor. At once unsettling and compelling, the novel’s atmospheric dread and Gothic sense of place are rooted in Northumberland.
Elver House, with its mouldering walls, creeping vines, rising mist, and streams where juvenile eels slip like phantoms between land and water, is a character in its own right. Both the house and its landscape are heavy with secrets, and frame Ellen’s uneasy journey into memory and revelation. Over the course of a week of interviews, during which the moods of Elver House deepen and darken, she finds herself confronting questions she believed long buried. Here, Apostolides has created a novel as unsettling as it is beautifully crafted – rich in atmosphere, alive with unease, and eerily memorable.
THE HOUSE OF WOLF
BY TONY ROBINSON
The Northumbrian, August/September 2025The debut adult novel from Sir Tony Robinson (Baldrick in Blackadder and presenter of Time Team) spans 9th century Wessex, Rome and Northumbria, where rival heirs, bishops and warriors struggle over faith, power and survival in a fractured land.
King Æthelwulf’s fading rule, the ambitions of his children, and the looming Viking threat set the stage for betrayal and shifting alliances, while in Rome, Church politics are drenched in treachery. Robinson balances dynastic drama with vivid detail and wit, making the clash of historic kingdoms feel urgent and contemporary. This is an atmospheric, fast-moving novel that illuminates Northumbria’s place at the heart of Britain’s making.
NORTHUMBRIA AD367-867: Earth-Hall, Ring-Gift, and Heaven’s Feld
BY MAX ADAMS AND COLM O'BRIEN
The Northumbrian, October/November 2025Illuminating one of Britain’s most compelling historical landscapes, this authoritative study traces the centuries between the collapse of Roman rule and the rise of the Viking kingdom of York, weaving archaeology, geology and cultural memory into a vivid portrait of the North.
It captures an age when kingdoms rose and fell, faith and politics intertwined, and figures such as Edwin, Oswald, Cuthbert and Wilfrid reshaped belief and identity. Fresh archaeological discoveries illuminate familiar names and episodes, deepening our understanding of Bede’s world and Lindisfarne’s legacy. In doing so, this work restores immediacy to the past: the clash of arms, the persistence of faith, the creation of art and learning that reached far beyond Northumbria. It reminds us that Northumbria’s story is central to the making of medieval Britain, and that its voices, though distant, still speak with clarity and force.
LODE
BY GILLIAN ALLNUTT
The Northumbrian, August/September 2025This latest collection from the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry winner unfolds as a triptych: beginning with war and its aftermath, moving through the strange terrain of the Covid era, and arriving in an unsettled present.
The poems draw deeply from the spiritual and natural worlds, as well as the lives of the poet and those closest to her. These are spare words, minimal and restrained. They tempt with glimpses: an audience with the late Queen; a violent wartime death; a one-eared teddy bear; the fleeting nature of summer, all distilled into Technicolour clarity. Even the notes are compelling, offering tangents and rabbit holes as intriguing as the poems themselves. And Lode? A journey, a seam of buried ore; something discovered, uncovered – gleaming quietly, like this collection.
STOVIES ON MONDAY
& OTHER POEMS
BY NEIL HODGSON
The Northumbrian, August/September 2025Poet Noel Hodgson returns with a collection that honours Northumberland with warmth, insight, and lyrical precision.
Blending new poems with earlier work, it traces his evolution from keen-eyed youth to thoughtful, seasoned observer. With affectionate detail, Hodgson captures the rhythms of rural life, drawing on the people, landscapes, and local lore that give the region its quiet magic.
His verse is grounded and gently reflective, rich with humour and a deep sense of place. This is a collection that resonates with quiet strength – enduring, familiar, and unmistakably Northumbrian.
TEN POEMS FROM NORTHUMBERLAND
SELECTED BY JANE BURN
The Northumbrian, October/November 2025The latest pamphlet from Candlestick Press, whose books are neatly packaged with an envelope for you to send them as a gift in place of a card, is a lyrical celebration of Northumberland.
It captures the region’s wild beauty and enduring spirit, where history clings to moorland and stone and the natural world is charged with memory. It brings together ten distinctive voices – Bob Beagrie, Jane Burn, John Challis, Linda France, Harry Gallagher, Wilfrid Gibson, Carmen Marcus, Katrina Porteous, Degna Stone and James Tait – each offering a fresh eye on our landscapes and cultural heart.
THE KING’S MOTHER
BY ANNIE GARTHWAITE
The Northumbrian, June/July 2025In this absorbing sequel to the brilliant Cecily, Annie Garthwaite offers another vivid portrayal of Cecily Neville during the Wars of the Roses, capturing the intense maternal ambition and political acumen of Cecily, Duchess of York and mother of two kings (Edward IV and Richard III), as she navigates betrayal and power struggles.
The complex dynamics between Cecily and other formidable women vying for their sons’ political and regal position are portrayed in elegant prose and meticulous historical detail, creating a richly layered narrative that cements Garthwaite’s place among the leading names in historical fiction.
Both this and its predecessor, Cecily, shed new light on a period of history marked by political intrigue and familial power play by retelling major historical events through the eyes of the wives and mothers who worked behind the scenes and had such influence on the nation and its power dynamics. These two novels are unputdownable, and Cecily herself lives long in the memory.
THE NORTH ROAD
BY ROB COWEN
The Northumbrian, June/July 2025If you listened to it when it was the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week recently, you will know that the latest work from this acclaimed and most original voices on nature, place and people, is beautifully written and profoundly personal.
In it, Cowen weaves history, geography and personal memoir together as he vividly recounts a journey along the UK’s iconic and longest numbered route, the A1, including its passage through our region.
Deeply personal, its poetic prose has the power to bring the reader to laughter and tears and is rightly acclaimed as one of the best books of the year so far.
MARRATIDE: Selected Poems of William Martin
EDITED BY PETER ARMSTRONG & JAKE MORRIS-CAMPBELL
The Northumbrian, June/July 2025A must-buy for lovers of the extraordinary poetry of William Martin, this collection, which celebrates the poet’s centenary, brings together poems from his four collections with fascinating introductory essays from the editors.
These verses are exquisitely spare yet deeply rich in their vision and musicality. Grounded in North East pit communities and the region’s industry, history and mythology, they are uniquely of their time, depicting places and themes uniquely north-eastern via a deeply held social conscience.
What is more, Martin’s voice survives via a QR code printed in the book which links to archive recordings of poems read and sung by the man himself. What a treasure this is.
BELSAY
BY LJ ROSS
The Northumbrian, April/May 2025
The latest addition to the DCI Ryan Mysteries series presents another tightly woven tale of suspense set in the picturesque yet often treacherous (in DCI Ryan’s world, at least) landscapes of Northumberland.
When the body of a young woman is discovered on the grounds of historic Belsay Hall, Ryan and his team are thrust into a chilling investigation that reveals dark secrets lurking beneath the surface of the seemingly tranquil countryside. Ross’s signature blend of atmospheric settings, well-paced storytelling, and engaging characters guarantee a compelling read.
THE NORTH PENNINES: England’s Last Wilderness, a photographic celebration
BY HELEN SHAW
The Northumbrian, April/May 2025This hardback book of glorious colour photographs chronicles the life and landscapes of the beautiful North Pennines.
This is a striking visual exploration of a region often missed by visitors, focusing not only on famous views, but lesser-known spots that inspire the reader to get out and explore. Each caption reveals something intriguing about the subject of these images which capture wild and rugged places from remote Upper Teesdale to the grouse moors and valley of Shield Water, to the River West Allen above Staward Gorge and its 18th century bridge. This collection reveals some 770 square miles of country, from Mallerstang on the fringes of the Yorkshire Dales, north to Hadrian’s Wall, west to Cumbria and the Eden Valley, and east to the outskirts of Consett and Bishop Auckland.
SOUTH TO THE SUN: Tales from the Golden Age of Continental Motoring Holidays
BY ROGER HARVEY
The Northumbrian, April/May 2025If you grew up in the 1960s, 70s, or 80s you may well remember your family being packed into the car and driven over to Europe via the car ferry for a motoring odyssey. Roger Harvey recalls the excitement of these trips abroad: a type of summer holiday now almost forgotten but enjoyed by thousands of families who took the ferry to continental Europe. Harvey’s memories of ten years with his parents motoring from Denmark to Italy, Portugal to Austria is by turns humorous, poignant, and a snapshot of a simpler time, charting the joys and growing pains of romantic young love experienced by a sensitive young boy.
The cars, the food, the fun, the disasters: it’s all here, told with a poet’s eye for emotion and a novelist’s love of a good story.
Aftermaths
BY MIKE PRATT
The Northumbrian, February/March 2025This captivating collection of poems and reflections by Mike Pratt, CEO of Northumberland Wildlife Trust and columnist with this magazine, draws inspiration from the way nature uplifts and sustains us through both challenging and joyful times.
The poems began to take shape after Mike moved into a house perched halfway up the highest sea cliff on the eastern coast of England. Here on the Cleveland coast, he immerses himself in the abundant wildlife, honing his ability to observe the wonders, patterns, and rhythms of nature.
This unforgettable collection reveals the profound connection between human life and the wild world, merging the beauty of landscapes and wildlife with deep reflections on our existence amid the chaos of human society. It is a collection to return to time and again, each reading offering fresh insights and new perspectives.
The National Garden Scheme’s Garden Visitor’s Handbook 2025
The Northumbrian, February/March 2025
This is an indispensable guide for garden enthusiasts, offering access to over 3,500 gardens opening their gates for the National Garden Scheme this year, including scores in the North East.
With hundreds of new gardens featured alongside beloved favourites, this comprehensive handbook is a treasure trove for those seeking to discover hidden horticultural gems or revisit old haunts. Packed with detailed descriptions, photographs and maps, it provides all the essential information needed for planning the perfect garden visit. What makes each visit even more special is that it contributes to supporting some of the UK’s most cherished nursing and health charities.
ROAD TRIP NORTHUMBERLAND GUIDEBOOK: The Ultimate Guide to Northumberland, the North East and North Pennines
BY ROBBIE ROAMS
The Northumbrian, February/March 2025This is the ultimate companion for anyone planning a road trip through one of England’s most scenic regions.
Packed with practical tips, insider advice, and personal anecdotes, this in-depth guide ensures an unforgettable journey, covering everything you need, from detailed itineraries and budgeting to accommodation options, including campsites, off-grid park-ups, glamping, and hotels.
Roams’ insider knowledge helps take the stress out of trip planning, making it a breeze to explore the dramatic coastlines, stunning beaches, picturesque hiking routes, and charming villages.
BETWEEN THE SALT AND THE ASH: A Journey into the Soul of Northumbria
BY JAKE MORRIS-CAMPBELL
The Northumbrian, February/March 2025Published in March, Between the Salt and the Ash by award-winning poet and writer Jake Morris-Campbell is a deeply personal exploration of the North East, its natural beauty, landmarks, and people.
The journey begins after Morris-Campbell inherits his grandfather’s miners’ lamp, which inspires him to embark on a coastal pilgrimage from Holy Island to Durham Cathedral.
A South Shields native, Morris-Campbell weaves together the rich history of early Christian Britain with the present day, seeking to understand the past and the uncertain future of his homeland. Following a salt path, he challenges the notion that the North East is a region left behind in time.
A seamless blend of history, poetry, and travelogue, the book taps into the area’s literary and cultural heritage, uncovering fresh perspectives and new connections along the way.
CLIMBING STILES: A Wander Through the Countryside and Beyond
BY CHARLIE BENNETT
The Northumbrian, February/March 2025This second captivating collection of reflections by Northumbrian farmer and columnist for this magazine Charlie Bennett explores the intersection of nature, personal reflection, and human experience with his signature mix of poignancy and humour.
This follows the success of Down the Rabbit Hole: The Misadventures of an Unlikely Naturalist, published in 2022. In both collections, Charlie relates stories of life on his farm in Northumberland and his encounters with people going back decades.
With a sharp eye for the vagaries of human nature and a deep love for the natural world, this is essential reading for anyone who cares about the natural world and our place in it.
It is by turns funny and thought-provoking – an unputdownable escape into nature writing at its best.
The Beauty, Culture and History of Northumberland in Rhyme
BY HELEN BRUNTON
The Northumbrian, February/March 2025This is a heartfelt celebration of Northumberland’s rich history and cultural heritage. Combining the author’s deep love for the region with meticulous research, the book offers a captivating glimpse into some of the area’s lost traditions, people and places, evoking nostalgia for many.
Through poetic rhyme, Brunton brings to life tales from across Northumberland, including stories like Billy the Whaler from Newbiggin, The Loss of Eventide, and The Strength of Newbiggin Women.
This collection is not only a tribute to the past but also a reminder of the enduring spirit of Northumberland’s communities. It will fascinate those with a connection to the region, a love of local history, or a connection to the stories told.
By Light and Water
BY MARGARET MCALLISTER & TONY BUGLASS
The Northumbrian, Dec 2024/Jan 2025They say the best things come in small packages, and this beautifully simple book presents both a lyrical and a photographic exploration of life’s beauty crafted through words and pictures that evoke the elements in their most profound forms.
This is a gentle invitation to pause, breathe, and reflect on the interplay of the natural world and the human spirit. McAllister’s poems radiate a quiet spirituality and sensitivity to life’s fleeting moments, while Buglass weaves faith and grounded wisdom through his photographs. The imagery of light and water flows throughout the book. These elemental motifs symbolise renewal, clarity, and transformation. Take it everywhere with you and it will prove a faithful companion.
The Rocks at the Edge of the Empire: 50 extraordinary rock places that tell the story of the Romans and the landscape of their northern frontier
IAN JACKSON
The Northumbrian, Dec 2024/Jan 2025A fascinating introduction to the way in which geology influenced the Roman occupation of the most northerly part of Hadrian’s domain, this book is also an invaluable guide to walks to discover this landscape and its past. It lures the reader into places well-known and not-so obvious, revealing this country’s secrets and shining a light on
the challenges faced by the Roman army as it traversed difficult terrain and sourced building materials, energy, mineral and water resources.
What did rocks ever do for the Romans? The answer is pretty much everything, and this book is both a fascinating insight and a superb guidebook.
The Man Who Cycled Every Map
MARK WEDGWOOD
The Northumbrian, Dec 2024/Jan 2025In 2022, Mark Wedgwood cycled 7,300 miles across all 204 Ordnance Survey Landranger maps in numerically ascending order: a six-month odyssey to every part of Scotland, England, Wales and the Isle of Man.
He cycled cross-country from Newcastleton to Rothbury, and from there over to the coast, Alnwick and Alnmouth. There is cake and osprey-watching in Kielder, heather across the moors above Otterburn, a stretch of the Coquet Valley below the purplest of high hills, and a stopover in Rothbury, where a 90-mile ride is rewarded with a hearty pub dinner, which he demolishes gratefully.
This is life on the road, including the rituals of eating and drinking, keeping a bicycle going, and encounters with ordinary and extraordinary people. What comes through most strongly in this absorbing narrative is the curiosity of a man who simply delights in being out and about in the countryside, relating stories of the wild and human life he meets.
TOO FAR NORTH: Musical Scenes from the North East
BY IAN FAWDON
The Northumbrian, Dec 2024/Jan 2025Ian Fawdon sets out to interview some of the most influential figures in the region’s musical history as he poses the question: why does the North East not have a recognisable music scene that defines it like, say, Liverpool or Manchester – is it just Too Far North?
The question is an interesting one, and to find out, Ian sits down with 30 artists to find out what it means to be a musician from the North East. He begins with key figures associated with The Animals and the 1960s scene and progresses through folk, heavy metal, indie and more before ending the book with a chapter focusing on the wonderfully talented contemporary star, Nadine Shah.
It’s a clever premise for a book. The thoughts from each interviewee each offer their own insight into the scene they have inhabited at a certain time and place. We hear from well-known names such as John Steel of The Animals; Ray Laidlaw and Rod Clements of Lindisfarne; Martin Stephenson of the Daintees; and Ross Millard of The Futureheads. Plus, there are pleasingly nostalgic old photos of gigs in pubs and concert halls (were you there?).
Rund The Rugged Rocks: A Further Collection of Tall Tales from the Coquet Valley
BY RICHARD MASON
The Northumbrian, Dec 2024/Jan 2025This light-hearted book is the second compilation of amusing stories, dialect poems, sketches and photos of local characters from Coquetdale by an author with a keen ear and a dedication to documenting Northumbrian life.
It will appeal to the folk of Coquetdale, many of whom may recognise themselves, friends or family members within its pages, and to anyone who enjoys stories of the people of Northumberland or indeed of local life in rural Britain.
It is compiled by Richard Mason, who lives and works in and around the Coquetdale Valley, and while it will provoke smiles at the shenanigans and ridiculous tales of the goings-on in the area, it is also a historical snapshot of life in rural Northumberland in the past few decades. (Review by Janet Hardie)
Hay Girl - The Girl from the Book Festival Town: An Autobiographical Trilogy
BY BRIDGET ASHTON
The Northumbrian, Dec 2024/Jan 2025This trilogy from Morpeth-based Bridget Ashton follows the models of Laurie Lee’s Cider with Rosie trilogy and Flora Thompson’s Lark Rise to Candleford in documenting the author’s life and many adventures after growing up in the book down of Hay-on-Wye and her family’s subsequent migration to Northumberland in 1955.
Each book starts with childhood in a rural town and follows the child’s life out into the wider world along with the trials, embarrassments, humour, pains and joys of growing up. Bridget began her life in 1950s Hay on Wye and has been based in Northumberland for many years. The books are published both as a three-in-one volume and individually.